Avanyu were considered water serpents as well as sky serpents. They were ritually propitiated in the arid high mesa pueblo for essential rain and crop fertility.

This hand-carved wooden avanyu is painted black and turquoise to reflect the dual affinity to water and sky. His undulations perhaps reference his ability to shape shift into a lightning bolt to bring forth the rain. Avanyu are also protectors of rivers and streams.

This charming fetish was created in the 1980s,is unsigned and not often seen.

It measures 7 inches long, head is 1 inch wide and body is .50 inch